ORALS

As extraction rates of finite mineral resources, and the relative environmental impacts of these activities grow globally (Kesler, 2007; Parameswaran, 2016), initiatives to improve the sustainability of mining have been undertaken (Parameswaran, 2017). A framework for the assessment of sustainability of mining is needed. A review of existing thoughts at the intersection of sustainability and mining has been performed to identify existing frameworks. A common sustainable mining framework is focused on reducing environmental impacts of mining through measuring, monitoring, and working to improve various environmental performance metrics. A more comprehensive framework is emerging, however, that takes into account the complete life cycle of the mineral and includes circularity metrics and a systems view of mineral use in society. This transition from the emphasis on the environmental footprint of mining operations to responsible management of non-fuel mineral resources throughout their entire life cycle, including use phase and end of life, has benefits including reducing the quantity of mined material and preserving reserves for future generations (Gorman and Dzombak, 2018). In this work, through the collection of primary stocks and flows data for the complete copper life cycle from 1970 to 2015, life cycle and circularity analyses were applied to assess sustainability of copper mining, use and recovery in the United States. This is followed by dynamic modeling and assessment of the data. The circularity, and therefore sustainability, of copper is found to be limited by end of life collection. This is mostly from building and construction and electric utility sectors, as well as exports of scrap which limit availability of recyclable copper material in the U.S. and requires raw material imports and continued extraction of virgin materials.

References:
Gorman, M. R., and Dzombak, D. A. (2018). A review of sustainable mining and resource management: Transitioning from the life cycle of the mine to the life cycle of the mineral. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 137. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.06.001
Kesler, S. (2007). Mineral supply and demand into the 21st century. Proceedings, Workshop on Deposit Modeling, Mineral Resource Assessment, and Sustainable Development, 55-62. Retrieved from http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/2007/1294/reports/paper9.pdf
Parameswaran, K. (2016). Sustainability Considerations in Innovative Process Development. In Innovative Process Development in Metallurgical Industry. Springer International Publishing, Switzerland (pp. 257-280).
Parameswaran, K. (2017). Energy use, conservation, and eco-efficiency considerations in the primary copper industry. Proceedings, COM2017, The Conference of Metallurgists. 1-21. ISBN: 1-926872-36-0